Cruz makes unforced error with anti-New York spiel

Granted, this state’s junior senator (and Republican presidential contender) has a whiny vocal timbre that rests comfortably in an Allen-esque nebbishy register. And he also fancies himself something of a comedic performer, as demonstrated by a cringe-inducing 2015 campaign video in which he pretended to audition for voice work on “The Simpsons.”

But Cruz’s Woody Allen homage at Thursday night’s GOP presidential debate obviously was inadvertent. It all started earlier in the week when Cruz was asked about front-runner Donald Trump’s use of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” at campaign events, a song choice meant to poke fun at Cruz for being born in Canada.

Cruz responded that Trump should instead consider using the theme from “New York, New York,” given that the bombastic business mogul “embodies New York values.”

When challenged about it at Thursday’s debate by Fox Business Network host Maria Bartiromo, Cruz reduced the nation’s most populous city to a handy set of caricatures: “Everyone understands that the values in New York City are socially liberal or pro-abortion or pro-gay-marriage, focused around money and the media.”

A few debate watchers have picked up on the “money and the media” crack and wondered if Cruz meant “Jewish values” when he said “New York values.” I don’t think that was his intent, but his spiel was unfortunately reminiscent of a scene from Allen’s 1977 comedy classic, “Annie Hall.”

The scene features Allen’s paranoid character, Alvy Singer, ranting to his friend about the anti-Semitism he perceives all around him, and his sense that most Americans hate New Yorkers.

“The rest of the country looks upon New York like we’re left-wing, Communist, Jewish, homosexual pornographers,” Allen’s character says. “I think of us that way sometimes, and I live here.”

Of course, “Annie Hall” emerged in an era when New York teetered on the brink of bankruptcy, and many Americans viewed it as a haven for crime, decadence and profligate government spending.

That image doesn’t apply so easily in a post-9/11 world. In 2001, the nation saw the Twin Towers fall, watched brave firefighters risk their lives to pull people out of the wreckage, and grieved with New York as the death toll approached 3,000.

That’s the New York that Trump evoked in his rebuttal to Cruz. Trump’s simple reminder of the carnage of 9/11 put Cruz in an adversarial position with a city which has come to symbolize American resilience and compassion. Cruz had no choice but to piously applaud as Trump dressed him down.

“I have to tell you, that was a very insulting statement that Ted made,” Trump concluded. Cruz offered a wan head nod and a nervous smile, and let the issue rest.

Cruz is a savvy politician with a mind for the strategic long game, but he’s also driven by an overweening ambition that sometimes compels him to pander in the most transparent ways.

We’ve seen it with his full-camo duck hunting video; with his weird insistence that he stopped listening to rock music and gravitated to country after the 9/11 attacks; and, most recently, with his “New York values” barb.

His assumption that people in the heartland reflexively hate rock music (presumably because it’s not sufficiently patriotic) and New York City suggests that Cruz needs to get out more.

An argument can be made that Cruz had little to lose with his attack on New York. The New York primary doesn’t roll around until April 19, and Cruz had little chance of winning there even before his anti-Gotham offensive. And New York’s 29 electoral votes are guaranteed to fall into the Democratic column in November, regardless of who leads the GOP ticket.

But the scope of Cruz’s public pratfall last Thursday went beyond the derision he’s facing in NYC (where the cover of Friday’s Daily News proclaimed “Drop Dead, Ted,” complete with the Statue of Liberty shooting the finger at Cruz).

What about the people who have family members or friends who live in New York? What about the people who vacation there or visit regularly? What about the fact that Trump’s brash New York persona has actually been part of his appeal to Republican voters?

Cruz’s vagabond shoes are longing to stray, but they’re leading him to Des Moines, not New York.

Gilbert Garcia is a native of Brownsville, Texas, with more than 20 years experience writing for weekly and daily newspapers. A graduate of Harvard University, he has won awards for his reporting on music, sports, religion, and politics. He is the author of the 2012 book, "Reagan's Comeback: Four Weeks in Texas That Changed American Politics Forever," published by Trinity University Press. One of his feature stories also appeared in the national anthology, "Da Capo Best Music Writing 2001."